Chapter 8

“Almost there,” announced David as he pulled off of the freeway. When we started the trip to David’s parents’ house it felt like I’d swallowed a big rock. After a couple hours of driving it felt like I’d swallowed a much bigger rock ... David glanced over and must have seen my anxiety and started rubbing my shoulder comfortingly.

“Everything’s going to be fine. They’re going to love you,” he assured, though it did little to make me feel better, especially since I could see that he was probably just as nervous!

“I hope so.” David’s mother and sister had already expressed their support over the phone, but meeting in person was different. A few minutes later he pulled into the long driveway of a modest, single-story brick house on a rural plot of land.

“Ready?” Asked David and I took a deep breath.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I muttered under my breath and we got out of the truck and he got out the dish of cheesy potato casserole and I got the couple of homemade pies that we’d brought.

“I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but you look beautiful.” Despite my nerves I couldn’t help smiling a little bit. I wore a heavy black skirt for the cold, and my winter coat covered a dark green sweater I had made earlier in the fall. David also happened to be wearing a scarf I’d made him too. Once we reached the entrance I took another deep breath in a futile attempt to calm down as David opened the door. I had to duck uncomfortably low under the doorway as we walked in. The house smelled like what was most likely turkey, but I wasn’t sure. I knew that David told his mother about my dietary restrictions, and I hoped that she remembered, otherwise I was going to be very hungry by the end of the night!

“We’re here!” David called out.

“Be out in just a second!” A woman’s voice responded, but an older man who bore a strong resemblance to David walked in from a nearby hallway.

“Hi Dad,” David greeted cheerfully, but the man, apparently David’s father, just stopped walking and glanced between David and I with a look of disbelief. My heart started pounding as a shorter woman, presumably David’s mother, also walked in. She froze with an expression that I couldn’t quite identify. “Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Ruth.” He gestured toward me. “Ruth, these are my parents, Pam and Scott.” A few very tense seconds ticked by as David’s parents stared at me, and my anxiety kept growing. Suddenly, David’s mother broke into a big smile and rushed forward. She took the pies from me and gave them to David’s father.

“Could you please put these in the kitchen? Thanks honey!” Without a word he left the room and she turned back to me. “Oh, aren’t you just lovely!” She exclaimed as she took my hands in hers. “It’s so wonderful to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too Mrs. Durran,” I said, still feeling a bit nervous, though not as much as before.

“Please, call me Pam, and make yourself at home!” She excitedly led me further into the house with David following. We stopped in a dining room with a peek-a-boo into the kitchen, and she gestured to a chair. “Have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink? We have all sorts of stuff. Sodas, beer, wine, water...”

“A glass of wine sounds nice,” I answered as I sat down, figuring it might help ease my remaining nerves.

“Of course. Red? White? Sweet? Semi-sweet?” Not being particularly familiar with wines I hesitated.

“I think you’d probably like a sweet red,” chimed in David. I glanced at him and he winked.

“Yes, I think I’ll have that,” I confirmed, looking back at Pam.

“Good choice! I have a lovely bottle of port that I’ve been just waiting for an excuse to open.”

“Ooh, you’re in for a treat!” Exclaimed David with a grin. Pam was practically dancing as she pulled a couple of wine glasses from a cupboard, as well as a glass bottle when she turned to her son.

“Would you like a glass, David?”

“No thanks, I’m gonna get a beer.” Pam looked behind me and toward the doorway “how about you Honey?” I turned my neck and saw David’s father in the doorway.

“I ... think I’m gonna pour myself a whiskey...” He glanced at me for less than a second, then looked away. It almost looked like he was trying to avoid looking at me, and I got the feeling that he wasn’t going to accept me as easily as David’s mother. The pit in my stomach started coming back.

“I’ll get it,” David said and he came back, handing a glass full of amber liquid to his father before sitting next to me. A moment later David’s mother handed one of the wineglasses to me and sat on the other side of the table. I took a sip and it was quite good.

“So, please, tell us about yourself! David’s told us almost nothing about you!” She said excitedly before shooting a teasing glare at her son. He wrinkled his nose back at her. The lighthearted banter was helping put me at ease again, even if David’s father didn’t seem very welcoming.

“Don’t be too mad at him,” I said with a chuckle. “We both thought it would be better to be discreet until we knew that our relationship was a little more settled.” Somehow Pam’s smile grew even wider.

“So what I’m hearing is that you’re going to be around for a while!” She exclaimed excitedly. Before I could answer, David took my hand in his above the table.

“Well I certainly hope so!” David said with a laugh. Pam’s grin widened, though his dad made a light choking sound and she shot him a dirty look. We were all interrupted with the sound of the door opening.

“I’m here! The party has officially started!” Called out a woman’s voice.

“We’re all in the dining room,” shouted David and a moment later his sister walked in. She glanced at me before smirking at David. He didn’t seemed bothered by it so I assumed it was good natured.

“Hey, trouble!” She teased as she ruffled David’s short hair, making him recoil and swat her hand away.

“Brat!” He cried out. Giggling, she stepped away to avoid further retaliation. Their parents rolled their eyes at their children’s antics. She gave her parents a hug and kiss on the cheek, then turned to me, still sporting a wide grin.

“Hi! We met before, but I’m Jill, this lunkhead’s sister!” She jerked her head toward David before extending her hand out. I did likewise and shook hers. Compared to David’s hand, it felt very small.

“I remember you from when you helped David move in.”

“Yep!” She leered at David for a second. “And if you ever need me to knock some sense into my doofus of a brother, you just let me know!” I chuckled and David rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary. David is a wonderful man.” I glanced at him affectionately, making sure to smile with my mouth so his family would recognize the look for what it was.

“Awww. That’s sweet!” Gushed Pam.

“Man, how am I supposed to make fun of that!?” Teased Jill

“You’re not!” Blurted David and everyone laughed.

The continued teasing helped keep me at ease and I was having a good time. About an hour after our arrival, Pam excused herself to the kitchen to check on the food.

“Dinner’s ready!” She announced from the kitchen a minute later, and everyone else got up at once.

“Be back in a minute,” David said quietly, and they all went to the kitchen. On their way back, everyone was helping bring various dishes filled with green beans, cranberry sauce, what looked like a sweet potato casserole, and all manner of other food!

“Can I do anything to help?” I asked David when he walked by.

“Nah, we got this,” he replied, and when I had the opportunity I got up and moved to the edge of the dining room to avoid being in the way.

After a few minutes David waved me back over and we sat down, along with his father and sister. The table appeared to be almost entirely set except for a large opening in the center. The three of them watched the kitchen door in anticipation, so I did too. We weren’t waiting long before David’s mother came out with a large platter covered in foil. She set it down in the empty spot and glanced around at her family with an excited smirk. In a single motion she whipped off the foil.

“TA DAAAAH!” She exclaimed as she revealed a perfectly golden brown turkey. Everyone else at the table ogled the bird hungrily, but after the reveal, I started looking at the side dishes. I was pleased that it looked like there was enough that I would be able to eat and not go hungry.

“And there’s one more thing...” David’s mother said cryptically as she cleared a space next to me. Jill and David exchanged confused glances, and Scott’s face was an unreadable mask while his wife left for the kitchen again.

“What’s going on?” I asked David.

“I don’t know,” he replied. A moment later his mother came back out of the kitchen with a smaller plate that also had a foil covered mound on it. She put it down in the space she’d cleared, and with a wide grin she pulled off the metal sheet, revealing a pale orange gourd that was sliced longways down the middle, and then tied back together with cooking string, sandwiching a number of ingredients between the two halves.

“David told me about your dietary restrictions, and I just couldn’t let you go hungry! So I looked online for a bit until I found this little number! It’s roasted butternut squash, stuffed with wild rice, walnuts, cranberries, and a bunch of other veggies.” Completely humbled, I gazed at the beautiful dish for a moment before glancing back at Pam. As I looked into her smiling face, I felt a warmth spread through me from being welcomed so sincerely.

“Thank you, so very much,” I said quietly.

“I do hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will. It looks delicious.”

“Holy smoke, that does look good!” Exclaimed David. “Do you mind if I get a bite of that?”

“Of course not!” I said with a giggle. Pam placed a knife and large spatula on the squash plate, and when she sat down everyone started passing food every which way. A couple minutes later everyone seemed to have everything that they wanted and it was finally time to start eating!

I took a small bite of the squash dish and it was so good that I couldn’t keep from uttering a low moan!

“This is absolutely amazing,” I complimented and David’s mother beamed.

“Good! I’m glad it came out!” I cut a small piece out for David and put it on his plate. He ate it and nearly swooned!